Why is the domain name business sooooo crooked???

Now, I've done a lot of different things in my life. I've touched on a lot of different industries at one time or another. And, the one thing they all seem to have in common - no matter how legitimate (or illegitimate) the industry - is that they never cease to suprise me with just how crooked they really are.

But, nothing prepared me for the domain business!!! I've been a heavy internet user for more than a decade now - so I'm used to bad customer service! But - holy cow!

I've purchased a couple hundred domain names over the last few months - and let's see what I've come across...

* I had a domain name registered out from under me (some 'tasting' company likely stole the whois data on my name search) and registered it right before I did.
* Registerfly managed to charge me twice for the above domain (that, obviously, I didn't get - and, of course, they didn't correct their 'mistake' or refund my money).
* Another registrar (cc-TLD) managed to charge my credit card twice for the same transaction (and, of course, never corrected their mistake either).
* One whole country-code top-level-domain makes you agree to their own specific terms & conditions - but of course there's a dead link to their terms (so you can't actually read what you are agreeing to). I informed them of this, and about a month later they finally respond saying that the terms page is working fine (of course, there's two different terms & conditions pages and they only checked the working one and not the dead one)...
* I also purchased a couple domains from a different country-code TLD - one with certain restrictions about residency, business affiliation, etc... Knowing that it was arguable as to whether they would accept my domain name registration or not, I asked them first. They asked me to send them paperwork (receipts, contracts and such), which I provided (and they approved). They say everything's good and to go ahead and register the domains. I do - yet they never seem to come online. I finally find out it's because the registry decided to go back on their word - and now (after they've gotten my money) say I didn't provide them with adequate enough paperwork (they never bothered to inform me that they had declined my registration either - and they also tried to keep my money!)...
* Then, of course, there was the parking company here that bait-and-switched me (and everyone else).
* Oh yeah, then there was the other massive European registrar who made me send in the exact same document three different times (and fill out a web-form saying I'd sent in the document each and every time - before promptly ignoring both the forms AND the documents themselves)...
* I found bugs and errors in two different (major) domain registrars web sites that prevented me from updating the nameservers on a few of my domains - and just try and explain that to anyone from support!!! At least, you often get a nice, polite form letter back explaining how the problem is really yours, not theirs (and showing that they really didn't even read your email in the first place).
* I tried to purchase a dozen domains from a certain cc-TLD (I even went so far as to send the registrar an 'I'm buying all these domain names, please send me the bill/order-form/whatever...' email), but that was almost three months ago and they haven't bothered to reply yet. I'm beginning to think they may never...
* Heck, even my hosting company is in on it. They promise 99.9% up-time - only to deliver almost 90 or 95% uptime during the summer.

And GEEZ, that was just off the top of my head. I'm sure there's others! I can't even count how many times I've been outright lied to by some company's Support Department (usually over something that's clearly their fault - but wouldn't look like it to a newbie).

When are internet companies ever going to realize that poor customer-service (and other things such as - I don't know - fraud and theft) aren't going to help their businesses?

Maybe one day...

 

You're not wrong - I think it just comes down to the fact that most domain registrars are run by retards.

To add to your list, I recently deposited $10 in my Elb account, purchased a load of domains using my $10 credit and then got an e-mail saying the purchase had failed due to a transaction failure. Pretty strange, since the funds had already been successfully deposited into my account. Every time I try to purchase any domains this happens. I have e-mailed them three times about this and haven't received a single reply - they are just ignoring me. So as far as I'm concerned they have stolen my $10. W*nkers.

 

I sympathize with you. But it's not easy to discern the truth.

What you've posted is what happened on your side. Without knowing that of
the other side, what you've said is all we've got so far.

I've had my share of problems with domain registrars, too. I even had some
issues I felt warranted legal help (which I currently can hardly afford).

Some domain registrars are fully aware of the need to take care of customers
as best as they can. But like everyone else, they know they can't please all.

Now I've seen some cases where it does appear the registrar is at fault. But
unless someone forces the issue legally, no one really knows who's right and
who's wrong.

Some issues are currently being tackled by the powers-that-be. But.......one
thing at a time.

Meanwhile, the only option we've got is to "vote with your wallet".

 

That's very true. I recently tried to reg ccTLDs with a reputable european registrar only to have my credit card rejected despite deducting the amount. Even up to now I am still pursuing my money with my CC bank. I hope to get my money soon because the more it delays the more it appears to me like a scam!!

 

With many domain registrars offering reseller accounts to people with little or no expertise/experience it is frequent to find that what appears to be a 'reputable domain registrar' is just a reselling account run by a kid still in school. My advice would be to fully research companies in forums like this, and those that are more domain-specific, to see what other's have experienced, and never to just go for the cheapest option- there's nearly always a catch, and its usually the customer service that is the first thing to suffer.

 

Sorry to hear all this guy
Sounds like you might have been with DreamHost cause they had major downtime last month but seems to be fixed.
With the Parking thing domains really have to be optimized to make revenue.

 

you have to purchase domain from reputed registrars